Hurricane/Typhoon Eugene (2023)
Hurricane Eugene, also known as Super Typhoon Eugene, formed during the hyperactive 2023 Pacific Hurricane Season, and became both the longest-living and the strongest tropical cyclone on record. Eugene peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, which is the highest possible categorization for hurricanes. Hurricane Eugene, along with its many other impressive feats, was the only ever recorded tropical cyclone to traverse four tropical cyclone basins. Because Hurricane Eugene traveled through the International Date Line (the eastern boundary of the Western Pacific) as a Category 5 hurricane, it was also designated as a Super Typhoon, which is the Western Pacific's name for tropical cyclones that reach wind speeds of 150 miles per hour and above. This makes Eugene a quite unique tropical cyclone in that it was designated as both a Hurricane and a Super Typhoon. Eugene was the fifth named storm and the first hurricane of the 2023 Pacific Hurricane Season. It originated as a tropical wave that exited the west coast of Africa on August 9. The tropical wave traveled westward for more than a week before developing into a tropical depression off the coast of Nicaragua at 16:00 UTC on August 16. Shortly after making landfall, the depression degenerated into a remnant low. A day later, it emerged into the Eastern Pacific, where it strengthened back into a tropical depression. Eventually, the depression turned northward, made landfall in southeastern Mexico, and became a remnant low for the second time. After about a day of northward movement, the low turned westward and exited Mexico late on August 19. Twelve hours later, the system developed into a tropical depression for the third time. At 3:00 UTC on August 21, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Eugene Meteorological history Hurricane/Super Typhoon Eugene originated from a tropical wave that exited the west coast of Africa early on August 9. It continued traveling westward until it developed into a tropical depression off the coast of Nicaragua. It quickly made landfall on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua and degenerated into a remnant low. The remnant low crossed Central America and moved into the Eastern Pacific basin, where it strengthened back into a tropical depression . The tropical depression moved north, and made landfall in Mexico. Shortly after making landfall in Mexico, Eugene degenerated into a remnant low again and started to travel westward. The remnant low quickly re-developed into a tropical depression for the third time as it continued westward. It soon became a tropical storm, and was given the name Eugene. As it began to head generally westward, Eugene strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. Eugene fluctuated in intensity for around a day, weakening into a tropical storm before strengthening back into a Category 1 hurricane. Eugene continued to strengthen, becoming a Category 2 hurricane. For a short period of time, Eugene was a Category 3 hurricane, although it quickly weakened back into a Category 2 hurricane. Eugene then underwent rapid intensification, and became a Category 4 hurricane. During this period of rapid intensification, Eugene reached it's first peak intensity of 150 mph (240 km/h). (WIP) Records During the life of Hurricane/Typhoon Eugene, the hurricane broke many records. One of the main records that Hurricane Eugene broke had to due with the hurricane's longevity. Eugene set the new record for longest-lasting tropical cyclone, beating Hurricane/Typhoon John's previous record of 31 days by one day, with Eugene lasting a total of 32 days as a fully tropical/extratropical cyclone. Like Hurricane John, Eugene spent most of it's life out at sea. Unlike John, however, Eugene made landfall in Japan near the end of it's life as a high-end Category 2 hurricane, making it the only Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone in recorded history to make landfall in Japan at hurricane intensity. As well as being extremely persistent and long-lasting, Eugene is the only storm in recorded history to traverse 4 basins, as it formed in the Atlantic Basin, traversed the Eastern and Central Pacific Basins, and dissipated in the Western Pacific Basin. Because of the unusually intense nature of Hurricane/Typhoon Eugene, it was subject to very close observation. Over 100 weather reconnaissance missions were flown into the typhoon, surpassing Typhoon Tip as the most closely observed tropical cyclone of all time. One Hurricane Hunters flight that flew into the outer eyewall of Eugene recorded 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 220 miles per hour, occasional wind gusts of over 270 miles per hour, and a pressure of 868 millibars. When this report from the Hurricane Hunters was confirmed as true, Eugene became the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history, achieving both the highest wind speeds and the lowest pressure ever documented in a tropical system. Category:Intense Storms Category:Record-breaking hurricanes Category:Eastern Pacific Category:GaryKJR Category:Long-Lasting storms Category:Hurricane and Typhoon Category:Super Typhoons Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Typhoons